At this moment Aunt Cornelia cried out joyously, "Oh, thar's my chile!" and
ran to meet her daughter-in-law. The little girl--Cornelia the
second--could navigate bravely by herself now, and Huldy was carrying the
lusty twin boys. In the flutter of delight over this stolen visit, the ugly
wolf-trap threat was forgotten. It had been a month and more since Sammy
had set foot in his parents' house. It had gone all over both Turkey Tracks
that Sam Overholt declared he would never darken Pap Overholt's door
again--Pap Overholt, who had tried to make a pauper of him, loading him
with gifts and benefits, like he was shif'less, no-'count white trash! The
little Huldy reported him gone to Far Canaan, over beyond Big Turkey Track,
in the matter of some employment, which he had not deigned to make clearer
to his wife. He would not be back until the day after to-morrow; and
meantime she might stay with the old folks two whole days and nights! In
the severe school to which life had put her, the little Huldy had developed
an astonishing amount of character, of shrewdness, and perception, and a
very fair philosophy of her own. To the elder woman's sad observation that
it was mighty strange what made Sammy so "onthankful" and so "ha'sh" to his
pappy, who had done so much for him, Huldy responded,

"No, Aunt Cornely, hit ain't strange, not a bit."

"Ain't strange? Huldy child, what do you mean?"

"W'y, don't you know, Aunt Cornely, ef he do Pappy that-a-way, when Pappy
do so much fer him, then he don't have to be thankful. When everybody's
a-tellin' him, 'Yo' pap's so kind, yo' pap does everything for you; look
like you cain't be good enough to him,' he 'bleeged to find some way to
shake off all that thankfulness 'at's sech a burden to him. And so when
Pappy come a-totin' milk, an' a-totin' pork, an' a-ploughin' his co'n outen
the weeds, w'y, Sammy jest draw down his face an' look black at Pappy, and